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After reports that Apple was facing hinge production issues on the iPhone Fold, a new rumor claims that the company's first foldable phone is hitting a entirely different issue at the pre-assembly stage.
The leaker known as Fixed Focus Digital contradicted last week's hinge rumor on Weibo claiming that the issue is due to surface-mount technology (SMT) during pre-assembly. Per their claim, production yields are slow to ramp up.
If you're unaware, SMT refers to the process of mounting components of a device onto the circuit board per ABL Circuits.
Fixed Focus doesn't outright say that the expected September launch will be delayed but they did say that the "situation is not looking optimistic" (machine translated).
Several comments blamed Apple's manufacturing process, but in a response FFD said that the issue is in the "upstream process" that Apple's contractor is allegedly working hard to resolve. They blamed Apple's quality control requirements as being "too strict."
The previous report from separate leaker Instant Digital claimed that Apple's high standards were part of the issue regarding the iPhone Fold's hinge which was allegedly consistently failing to meet their stringent demands. In a follow up post, they did say that the hinge issue was unlikely to affect the September launch.
Production issues abound but delay is questionable
Recently, several leaks have popped up suggesting that Apple is struggling to mass produce the iPhone Fold. They stand in contrast to reports in April that said Apple was on track for a September release.
Both Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and DigiTimes Asia reported that the the foldable iPhone was facing production delays but expected to launch in the fall. At the time DigiTimes reported that production was roughly one to two months behind schedule.
Gurman reported that Apple was aiming to put the Fold onsale at about the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro models or a little later. "The release is six months away, and production has yet to ramp up," he said. Gurman added that timing wasn't final.
Apple doesn't 'need' a foldable this year
Analyst Avi Greengart of Technospatial told Tom's Guide that if Apple doesn't release its folding iPhone this year it will only benefit Samsung and Motorola globally and Huawei in China.
However, he added that Apple's iPhone sales "have surged" without a foldable." It doesn't need one to be successful," Greengart said.
This may be true as Yahoo Finance reported in April that Apple's sales of the iPhone 17 series increased by up to 26% compared to previous years. We don't have exact numbers since Apple tends not to share that information.
The foldable iPhone should launch with a 7.8-inch foldable screen and a 5.5-inch outer display. It should feature an A20 chip and C2 modem plus a Touch ID power button. Current pricing rumors suggest it will start around $2,000.
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